What is compensatory mitigation? How are mitigation banking and permittee responsible mitigation related?

Compensatory mitigation commonly refers to the : Restoration (re-establishment or rehabilitation), Establishment (creation), Enhancement, and/or in certain circumstances Preservation of aquatic resources for the purposes of offsetting potentially adverse impacts from development (and where every effort has been made to avoid or minimize those negative impacts). In a very real sense, compensatory mitigation can be thought of as the sister to carbon off-setting initiatives. Where carbon off-setting addresses ways to reduce the impact of carbon, compensatory mitigation is a way to off-set the impact on our aquatic resources. The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the impetus behind compensatory mitigation. The CWA’s primary goal is “ to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s water .” In 2008, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers further clarified the federal mitigation guidelines so that the goal is to achieve “no net loss” of aquatic resources. So how do we do this, given our nation’s land development, recreational, and agricultural projects? What does this look like in practice? When a permitted activity results in the loss of aquatic resources, all practicable steps must be taken to avoid, or minimize, the impacts to that aquatic resource. If the impact is unavoidable, then compensatory mitigation is required in the same watershed to replace these lost functions. There are three ways to provide compensatory mitigation, listed in order of preference: mitigation banks, in-lieu fee programs, and permittee responsible mitigation. Mitigation banking and in-lieu fee programs are the preferred methods of completing compensatory mitigation. In other words, the mitigation bank sponsors, or in-lieu fee programs assume responsibility from, the party that committed the impacts. The mitigation banks and the in-lieu fee program administrators are then responsible for the implementation and success of the project that mitigates, or offsets, the project impacts. Compensatory mitigation guidelines and interpretations are constantly evolving. We work with clients and stakeholders to evaluate cost-effective solutions to meet their mitigation needs.

Are mitigation banks regulated?

Every physical site gets registered with the USACE. The regulatory bodies that oversee this whole industry are the US Army Core of Engineers (USACE) primarily, as well as the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA and other state-specific entities like Fish and Wildlife.

What are mitigation credits? And what are the advantages of purchasing credits?

Mitigation credits are a unit of trade used to offset environmental or ecological impacts that occur in our country’s waters. As mitigation bankers, we take on environmental restoration projects that earn “credits”. These restoration projects are registered with the US Army Corps of Engineers, who also keep track of the credits associated with each project. We are then able to act as a bank, making our credits available to developers and other permittees who need those credits in order to offset the projects they’re undertaking.

What is the difference between a mitigation bank and mitigation bankers?

Mitigation banking is an ingenious way to “offset the ecological loss of a development project by compensating for the preservation and restoration of a different area” , generally in the same watershed. A mitigation bank is a physical site that has been identified as needing restoration. The company that actually does the environmental restoration work, like Water and Land Solutions, is referred to as a mitigation banker because they generally also have mitigation credits to sell. Think about it just as you would a financial institution, like a bank: if you needed to loan money you’d go to the bank and take out a loan. As mitigation bankers, we have mitigation credits that we can sell to developers who are trying to offset their development projects.